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SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: 

Postgraduate Diploma in Business Leadership 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
111899  Postgraduate Diploma in Business Leadership 
ORIGINATOR
Da Vinci Institute for Technology Management (Pty) Ltd 
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education  HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework 
QUALIFICATION TYPE FIELD SUBFIELD
Postgraduate Diploma  Field 03 - Business, Commerce and Management Studies  Generic Management 
ABET BAND MINIMUM CREDITS PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL QUAL CLASS
Undefined  120  Not Applicable  NQF Level 08  Regular-Provider-ELOAC 
REGISTRATION STATUS SAQA DECISION NUMBER REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE
Reregistered  EXCO 0821/24  2019-09-03  2027-06-30 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2028-06-30   2031-06-30  

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.  

This qualification does not replace any other qualification and is not replaced by any other qualification. 

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION 
Purpose:
The Postgraduate Diploma in Business Leadership will deepen the learner's knowledge in the Business Management field. The qualification is aimed at professionals who wish to undertake reflection and development by means of a systematic survey of current and contemporary thinking, as well as engage in the practices and research methods in the Business Management field. The qualification aims to involve learners in the constructs, theories, tools and concepts of the Business Management field.

As a professional qualification, the qualification requires learners to relate their Business Management knowledge to a range of contexts in order to undertake professional and highly-skilled work. To this end, the learner will be required to undertake business research to deepen the understanding and application of, Business Management knowledge, skills and capabilities. Learners who attain this qualification should contribute to personal, social and economic development of the country and should advance the sustainability of business ventures.

Rationale:
Learners and stakeholders alike have expressed the need for a postgraduate qualification that will enable them to engage more deeply with their subject matter than what is available at foundational and undergraduate qualifications. The institution has therefore identified a need to build a learning pathway for learners, but also to respond to the needs of stakeholders, for example the banking industry, the supply chain and freight forwarding industries and the risk-based integrated management industry, to name a few.

Together with these stakeholders, a curriculum was established to meet the needs of both learners and industry. In addition, according to the Department of Higher Education and Training's list of 'Occupations in High Demand', 'management' as a skill, is still considered to be one of the critical skills for the country. Furthermore, business management knowledge, skills and capabilities are relevant to every conceivable sector - both private and public.

Emerging, small, medium and large companies, social enterprises and not-for profit organisations alike need strong management that will not only grow and advance the sustainability of business ventures and/or organisations, but who may also seek to establish new business ventures. Typical learners will be those who have completed an undergraduate Degree or a cognate Advanced Diploma, who are in management positions, or who are responsible for growing a business venture.

This qualification will thus meet the national need of building a cadre of managers in private and public organisations. Learners with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Management or Business Leadership, would be able to access the Postgraduate Diploma in Business Leadership. Successful learners of the Postgraduate Diploma will also be able to access the Master's qualification. 

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL):
The institution is guided by key national policies in respect of the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), including the policies espoused by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and the Council on Higher Education (CHE).

The practice is understood as 'the principles and processes through which the prior knowledge and skills of a learner are made visible, mediated and assessed for the purposes of alternative access and admission, recognition and certification, or further learning and development'.

The Institution distinguishes between the following forms of RPL:
  • RPL for Access. In cases where there is a lack of academic qualifications but relevant knowledge and skills acquired through work experience, related to the field of study, such experiences will be formally assessed to determine if they are similiar to the admission requirements of a qualification. The learner will be allowed to undertake an assessment designed for RPL, which constitutes a guided process of evidence accumulation, culminating in a Portfolio of Evidence to demonstrate competencies.
  • RPL for Advanced Standing. If a learner is able to partially demonstrate competence described in the Exit Level Outcomes of a qualification for which he/she intends to enrol, the RPL for Advanced Standing process applies. If a learner's application for Advanced Standing is successful, he or she does not have to repeat a particular section of the qualification.

    Where the same, or directly comparable modules, have been successfully completed at another higher educational institution that is both registered and accredited, credit will be granted for work completed. In this case, the institution will compare outcomes between modules from the two qualification and formally assign credit where it has been justified through the comparison process. The learner would be exempted from all assessment activities associated with the qualification.

    Entry Requirements:
  • Bachelor Degree, NQF Level 7.
    Or
  • Advanced Diploma, NQF Level 7. 

  • RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 

    QUALIFICATION RULES 
    This qualification consists of the following compulsory and elective modules at National Qualifications Framework Level 8 totalling 120 Credits.

    Compulsory Modules, 100 Credits:
  • Business Leadership, 20 Credits.
  • Technology and Information Management, 20 Credits.
  • Strategic Management, 20 Credits.
  • Financial Management, 20 Credits.
  • Business Research, 20 Credits.

    Elective Modules, 20 Credits (Choose one):
  • Retail Management, 20 Credits.
  • Marketing Management, 20 Credits.
  • Project Management, 20 Credits.
  • Risk-based Integrated Management, 20 Credits.
  • Operations Management, 20 Credits. 

  • EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
    1. Demonstrate integrated knowledge of the key concepts, principles and practices of each of the core Business Management disciplines.
    2. Demonstrate integrated knowledge of the key concepts, principles and practices of Business Leadership.
    3. Apply relevant standard models, procedures, tools and techniques to business management and business leadership problems to establish effective and efficient solutions.
    4. Demonstrate an understanding of research principles to effectively research appropriate business management and business leadership questions and problems. 

    ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 
    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1:
  • Explain the general management tasks and how they differ between management levels.
  • Apply appropriate standard methods, procedures or techniques in investigating business management practices in e.g. Operations Management, Human Resource Management, Marketing Management and Financial Management.
  • Explain the synergistic manner in which the functional areas of business collaborate to ensure the achievement of business goals.
  • Describe the impact of current management trends within the macro, market and micro environments of the business.
  • Interpret financial statements, reports and ratios.
  • Define economics, its core concepts, structures, role-players and sources of economic growth.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2:
  • Describe the current business leadership challenges in their own organisation and industry, as well as South Africa.
  • Explain the business leadership competencies (knowledge, skills and attitudes) required to manage and lead a business.
  • Describe the characteristics and behaviour of high performance teams.
  • Describe leadership models and theories and develop a personal business leadership model reflecting their own understanding.
  • Explain the impact of change on individuals, teams and organisations.
  • Identify and describe the drivers of innovation in their own industry, typical innovation challenges and problems related to the management of innovation in their own organisation.
  • List typical key performance indicators and explain the business processes related to the management of resources.
  • Explain how to align the resource management processes with the organisation's strategic intent.
  • Reflect on and describe personal growth and professional development goals and actions to promote self-awareness, sense of identity and purpose, personal engagement, agility and alignment.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3:
  • Identify and analyse business management and business leadership problems.
  • Recognise and recommend solutions to management challenges in their own area of responsibility and other management disciplines applying best practice, workplace knowledge and appropriate academic research results.
  • Explain the importance of systems thinking for business leaders and formulate solutions to basic business problems from a systemic perspective.
  • Involve stakeholders in co-creating solutions to business challenges.
  • Demonstrate and understanding of the Return on Investment (RoI) to be achieved for the individual, team and organisation, by applying proposed solutions.
  • Act ethically and professionally by drawing on appropriate ethical values and approaches within a supported environment.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4:
  • Conduct business research applying standard research methodology, from proposal to reporting stage, including fieldwork and simple data analysis.
  • Evaluate and verify information from different sources typical to business management and business leadership to ensure academic integrity.
  • Identify, evaluate, process and manage information (including digital information) ethically, efficiently and effectively to solve a business research problem.
  • Communicate own ideas and opinions in well-formed arguments, using appropriate academic, professional or occupational discourse.
  • Apply academic writing standards including the acknowledgement of sources.

    Integrated Assessment:
    Apart from the formative assessments learners are also required to demonstrate the achievement of the pre-defined Exit Level Outcomes associated with this qualification as an integral part of the summative assessments conducted on a modular level.

    Care is taken to ensure that all assessment tasks provide evidence of learner achievement that corresponds to the purpose, Exit Level Outcomes and NQF Level of the qualification being assessed. 

  • INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY 
    Country: Edinburgh, Scotland.
    Institution: Heriot Watt University.
    Qualification Title: Business Strategy, Leadership and Change, PGD.
    Duration: Full-time: 9 months, Part-time: 21 months.
    Qualifiers: Business Strategy, Leadership and Change.
    This qualification develops skills in areas including business strategy, leadership, project management, change management, quality management and inventory planning.

    Country: United Kingdom.
    Institution: University of Oxford.
    Qualification Title: Postgraduate Diploma in Organisational Leadership.
    Duration: 13 Months.
    Qualifiers: Organisational Leadership.
    In this qualification the four modules are taught over four days and completed in 13 months which combines the academic rigour and practical approach to the study of strategic management, organisational development and design, and leadership. The modules currently offered are: Leadership Fundamentals, The Strategic Mind-set, The Strategic Leader and Leading Organisational Change.

    Country: United Kingdom.
    Institution: University of Portsmouth.
    Qualification Title: PgDip Educational Leadership and Management.
    Duration: 1-year full time, 2 years part time, 2 years part time distance learning.
    Qualifiers: Educational Leadership and Management.
    This qualification develops the knowledge of management by learning about strategy and management. Learners will gain an understanding of research methods, theory, data analysis. This qualification is aimed at those learners who are or have worked for an organisation, such as teachers, lecturers, social and healthcare workers, police trainers, nurses and youth workers (etc.).

    Country: Kingdom.
    Institution: Birkbeck University of London.
    Qualification Title: Management (Postgraduate Diploma).
    Duration: One year full-time or two years part-time.
    Qualifiers: Management.
    The qualification explores specialist management issues within the fields of human resource management, strategic management, marketing, and accounting and finance, along with a variety of options.

    Country: United States of South Africa.
    Institution: University of California, Riverside (UCR).
    Qualification Title: Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management (PGDM).
    Duration: 33 weeks.
    Qualifiers: Business Management.
    In this qualification learners will study the fundamentals of management, then, take modules in a specialty area (event management, human resources, accounting or project management) and, finally, get experience during an internship in a U.S. organisation. Take up to two MBA modules, and earn full credit, which may be transferrable to a MBA qualification. 

    ARTICULATION OPTIONS 
    This qualification allows possibilities for both vertical and horizontal articulation.

    Horizontal Articulation:
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Business Leadership, NQF Level 8.
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration, NQF Level 8.
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Management, NQF Level 8.
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management and Administration, NQF Level 8.
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Management Practice, NQF Level 8.

    Vertical Articulation:
  • Master of Business Leadership, NQF Level 9. 

  • MODERATION OPTIONS 
    N/A 

    CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    N/A 

    NOTES 
    N/A 

    LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: 
     
    NONE 


    PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.
     
    1. Da Vinci Institute for Technology Management (Pty) Ltd 



    All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.